Defence criticizes verdict in case of an attack on judge in Cherkessk

A court in Cherkessk has sentenced Oleg Dyshekov, a local resident, to six years in prison on charges of assaulting a judge of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR). The visually impaired Dyshekov took the judge for another person; he had no intention of assaulting him; and the severe verdict was caused by the bias attitude of the court, the defence has stated.

The sentence to Oleg Dyshekov, a 33-year-old visually handicapped person, was passed on December 14. The court found that on March 29, while drunk, the man attacked Murat Khachirov, a judge of the SC of the KChR with the aim to rob him.

According to Oleg's mother, the attack was an occasional consequence of another incident.

"On March 29, a conflict broke out with the participation of several young people; one of them hit my son. Then, Oleg collided with the judge on the way, decided that this was one of his offenders, and beat him up .... There was no intention to take anything away from him," Elizaveta Dyshekova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"My son is almost blind; he has been under arrest for several months already. He apologized to the victim. We consider that six years in prison for that is unfair," the woman has added.